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The Deceptions
of Rubber Gloves
I
t has been more than 25 years since the
public panic over AIDS, Hepatitis B and
infection control prompted government agencies
to mandate the use of examination gloves
in dental the practice. In response to public
outcry, the American Dental Association,
the Centers for Disease Control, and the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
established guidelines for infectious
disease control that include the routine
use of eyeware, face masks and gloves by
dentists and their staff as a way of preventing
the spread of disease in dentistry. For the most
part, these guidelines have been significantly
ineffective and, in many cases, harmful. It is
time for a change.
– Article and Clinical Photos by Ellis Neiburger, DDS
To many clinicians and public health scientists, using gloves, masks and eyeware when treating patients seems reasonable
and rational. Although these devices are generally assumed and touted to protect both the patient and the dental
staff, many dental scientists and clinicians seriously doubt the effectiveness of masks and gloves, citing the rarity of
any disease transmission and numerous hazards associated with their use. 1-45 In this article, I will focus on examination
gloves and document evidence-based facts that support the notion that glove use has been recommended on an
unscientific basis and can increase the risk of infection rather than prevent it. Now that the AIDS scare of the 1990s has
passed, and the disease is better understood, dependable scientific data is available to back this claim. It is time for a
non-emotional re-evaluation of “protection.”
Government regulations, expanding the recommendations of the CDC, now require dentists to wear gloves with all patients.
This may not be in the best interest of either the public or the dental professional. It has been proposed that the
original recommendations of the CDC be re-applied. Those recommendations state that “gloves and protective ware be
recommended, not mandated, for dental care and the use of these tools be determined by the clinician on a case-by-case
basis where the benefits to the patient and safety of the dental staff be the prime focus.”
The Use of Gloves
Since 1985, concerns about AIDS and Hepatitis B have renewed emphasis on infection control and the use of barrierprotection
devices in dental offices. From the original CDC recommendations, a variety of preventative extrapolations
have been made by numerous self-proclaimed experts, organizations and manufacturers in an attempt to one-up each
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